Apocalypse

Apocalypse is a Mutant Champion. Being a Mutant Champion, he has a Class Bonus against Skill Champions, but has a disadvantage against Tech Champions.

Bio[]

Thousands of years ago in ancient Aqaba, the first living being on Earth to express the mutant X-gene was born, given the name "En Sabah Nur" or "The First One". As he traveled the Earth, En Sabah Nur deemed himself “Apocalypse” convincing ancient civilizations that he was a deity and manipulating them into fighting wars which he justified as stimulating growth, judgment, and destruction. After conquesting the Earth for many millennia Apocalypse used Celestial technology to enter a period of suspended animation for many centuries, awakening in the current age and deciding the Earth is ready for further examination.

Mechanics[]

Apocalypse is all about ramping up to empower himself or his fellow Mutants, he does this by simply winning fights which will grant him Genetic Code. Apocalypse can choose to keep his Genetic Code for himself to boost his own abilities or spend them in the Pre-Fight screen to empower any Mutant teammate! In combat, Apocalypse is all about big Special Attacks! Special Attacks 1 and 2 will trigger a Debuff based on the last attack landed, these Debuffs can be converted into enhanced versions with the Special 3! Finally, if Apocalypse’s signature Ability is unlocked, whenever he doesn’t participate in a fight he enters a deep slumber, allowing him to Regenerate health based on how many fights his team wins while he slumbers!

Stats[]

Max Rating	Max Health	Max Attack
579	2807	171
-	-	-
1537	7457	454
-	-	-
3867	18701	1137
-	-	-
7800	37495	2279
-	-	-
13310	63978	3888
-	-	-

Abilities[]

Genetic Enhancement - Max Stacks 4

Start each quest with 1 Persistent Genetic Code. This becomes 2 if Defending, and 3 if Defending a final boss node.
Knocking out a non-#Robot Opponent grants 1 Genetic Code.
Gain 2 Genetic Code at the start of the fight when fighting a Mutant.
At the start of the fight gain 1 indefinite Passive Prowess for each Genetic Code, each increasing Special Attack Damage by 40%.
At 3+ Genetic Code, become Stun-immune while striking.
At 4+ Genetic Code, striking the Opponent’s Block with Light Attack inflicts a Stun Debuff for 0.8 seconds. Cooldown 12 seconds. This has no effect against Well-Timed Blocks.

Dev Notes: Using Genetic Code, Apocalypse has the ability to hold infinite Passive Prowess effects making him great in some more niche situations such as the “Special Connoisseur” node in Act 6. Additionally, Apocalypse’s ability to Stun into Blocks is great in situations where the Opponent is playing hard to get, giving him an instant combo opener.

Total Molecular Control

Develop immunity to Bleed, Incinerate and Disorient effects over 8 seconds while suffering from them. Once developed, these immunities persist for the entire quest.
Each time the Opponent Evades, gain +10% chance to bypass Evade. This is not affected by Ability Accuracy reduction and the chance to bypass Evade persists throughout the quest.
Opponents suffer 100% Purify Ability Accuracy reduction.

Dev Notes: “Purify Ability Accuracy reduction” means that unless the Opponent facing Apocalypse has some way to increase their chance to trigger Purify, they will never be able to remove his Debuffs with Purify. This includes the stun from Parry.

Heavy Attacks

Both hits inflict Bleed dealing X Direct Damage over 7 seconds.

Tier	Direct Damage
	59.85
	158.9
	397.95
	797.65
	1360.8

Refresh personal Weakness, Poison, Concussion and Degeneration effects on the Opponent.

Special Attacks

If the Opponent is suffering from a Damage Over Time effect, Special Attack Debuffs trigger on activation and last 30% longer.
Each hit deals a burst of X Physical Damage for each personal Weakness, Poison, Concussion or Degeneration on the Opponent.

Tier	Physical Damage
	46.17
	122.58
	306.99
	615.33
	1049.76

Dev Notes: On Attack Apocalypse can chain his Heavy into a Special Attack to inflict Bleed and thus gain the bonus duration in his Special Attack Debuffs. Additionally, fighting Apocalypse with the suicide Masteries turned on is probably not the best idea since he will trigger his Special Attack Debuffs without needing to land a hit.

Horseman of Apocalypse - Pre-Fight and Cross-Fight

Once Per Quest If Apocalypse has 4 Genetic Code he can spend them in the Pre-Fight screen to place a Cross-Fight on the next fight. The next Mutant teammate excluding Apocalypse to enter this fight becomes a Horseman of Apocalypse for the rest of the quest.
Horsemen gain the following abilities:
- +100% Bleed Resistance.
- An indefinite Prowess increasing Special Attack Damage by 50%.
- +30% Offensive Ability Accuracy.
- Go Unblockable for 2 seconds when the Opponent Purifies a Debuff.
- Once per fight go Unstoppable for 3 seconds when struck.

Dev Notes: This horseman is one of Apocalypse’s coolest abilities and allows him to transform any Mutant into a horseman for the rest of the quest giving them a ton of additional power!

Signature Ability[]

Survival Of The Fittest

When Apocalypse doesn’t participate in a fight he enters his Rejuvenation Chamber to slumber. At the start of his next fight, he Regenerates X health for each fight his teammates won while he slumbered. This can stack up to 2 times.

Tier	Regeneration
	56.14 - 280.57
	149.14 - 745.37
	374.02 - 1869.26
	1127.53 - 3749.5
	1923.91 - 6397.8

Dev Notes: This ability essentially allows Apocalypse to Regenerate whenever his teammates win a fight. If you swap between using Apocalypse and his Horseman every few fights you can get the power of the horseman AND allow Apocalypse to slumber with his signature ability to regenerate back any health he might lose!

Special Attacks[]

Special 1 - Celestial Energy Blast
Unleashing the Power of Famine and Pestilence, Apocalypse blasts his opponent with a Celestial energy from his arm cannon.

Inflict a Debuff determined by the last Light or Medium Attack thrown. If fighting a Mutant, or if Apocalypse has 4 Genetic Code, trigger both.
Light Attack - Inflict a non-stacking Weakness reducing Attack Rating by 25% for 25 seconds.
Medium Attack - Inflict a non-stacking Poison dealing X Direct Damage and reduce health recovery by 30% over 25 seconds.

Tier	Direct Damage
	342
	908
	2274
	4558
	7776

Special 2 - Overheated Projectile Barrage
Unleashing the Power of War and Death, Apocalypse overheats his arm cannon, delivering a series of superheated blasts before jumping in to finish the job himself.

Inflict a Debuff determined by the last Light or Medium Attack thrown. If fighting a Mutant, or if Apocalypse has 4 Genetic Code, trigger both.
Light Attack - Inflict a non-stacking Concussion reducing Ability Accuracy by 35% for 25 seconds.
Medium Attack - Inflict a non-stacking Degeneration dealing X Direct Damage over 25 seconds.

Tier	Direct Damage
	598.5
	1589
	3979.5
	7976.5
	13608

Dev Notes: Combo enders are key in choosing what effect you want to trigger in Special Attacks 1 and 2. You can think of it this way: end with a Light Attack for Utility, end with a Medium for Damage.

Special 3 - The Final Judgement
Apocalypse increases his physical size and summons a pool of sinking sand under the Opponent's feet, towering over them before crushing them underfoot like the ant they are.

All personal Weakness, Poison, Concussion and Degeneration effects on the Opponent are retriggered at +100% Potency and paused indefinitely. This Potency increase does not stack multiple times.
If no personal Weakness, Poison, Concussion or Degeneration effects are active, inflict 2 at random. These will not gain additional potency and will not be paused.

Dev Notes: The Special 3 is most powerful for locking in your expiring Debuffs from Special 1 and Special 2. The ideal loop is to use Special 1 and Special 2 to get the Debuffs you want then use heavy attacks to refresh them as you build to your Special 3.

Synergy Bonuses[]

Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
The First One		Apocalypse: +15% Attack Rating for each Mutant on the team, excluding himself. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Your Fate is Mine		Apocalypse: Start the first fight in a quest with maximum Genetic Code. Kang: Every 4 seconds, Kang gains an indefinite Fury Buff granting 20% Attack Rating. This ends when reaching 20 stacks of Fury. Mister Sinister: Degeneration Debuffs gain +50% Potency. Cable: Incinerate Debuffs gain +150% Potency. Additionally, Heavy Attacks now inflict Degeneration on each hit and their stack limit is removed. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Bringer of Death - I		Psylocke: Basic Attacks have a 30% chance to grant a psi-charge and each psi-charge grants +5% Critical Rating. If this champion is a Horsemen of Apocalypse: +50% Critical Damage Rating and +50% Attack Rating when striking an Opponent at 0 Power. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Bringer of Death - II		Gambit: Each time a Kinetic Charge is gained, there is a 70% chance to gain an additional one. Cooldown 0.8 seconds. If this champion is a Horsemen of Apocalypse: Each Kinetic Charge grants 10% Perfect Block Chance up to a max of 100%. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Bringer of Death III		Wolverine: Personal Bleeds have a chance based on Critical Rating to be Critical Bleeds dealing damage based on Critical Damage Rating. If this champion is a Horsemen of Apocalypse: Gain +30% Critical Rating and +40% Critical Damage Rating. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Bringer of Death IV		Archangel: Each hit of a Heavy Attack into a Stunned Opponent has a 10% chance to pause all Neurotoxins for 3 second(s). If this champion is a Horsemen of Apocalypse: Neurotoxin stun duration is increased by 30%. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Impending Storm		Storm: Each hit of a Heavy Attack into a Shocked Opponent has a 60% chance to inflict an additional Shock Debuff, dealing 70% of modified attack over 8 seconds. If this champion is a Horsemen of Apocalypse: Shock effects last +50% longer and Heavy Attacks refresh all Shock Debuffs on the Opponent. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Guardian of the Pyramid		Storm (Pyramid X): After charging her Dormant Prowess, Storm has a 70% chance to trigger a Passive Prowess for each Prowess Buff that is already active, each increasing Special Damage by 15% for 6 seconds. If this champion is a Horsemen of Apocalypse: Gain +30% Critical Rating and +20% Prowess Potency. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Incoming Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers		Synergy Champions: +300 Critical Rating when fighting Skill or Cosmic Opponents, +300 Block Proficiency when fighting Science or Tech Opponents, or +30% Regeneration Rate when fighting Mystic or Mutant Opponents. Gain all bonuses when fighting Superior Opponents. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Grow Big or Go Home		Synergy Champions: +6% Block Proficiency and Block Penetration for each synergy member present.
Enemies - Level 3		All Champions: +155 Critical Rating.
Pyramid X		Synergy Champions: Gain a Precision Buff during Special Attacks for each Damage over Time Debuff and Stagger Passive on the Opponent, each increasing Critical Rating by +375. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Rivals - Level 3		All Champions: +115 Critical Damage Rating.
Rise Against The Contest		Apocalypse: Horsemen gain +30% Prowess Potency. Magneto (House of X): +5% Attack rating during the fight and Magneto's Atonement Synergy gain +25% Potency. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Bunker Punks		Silk: +500 Armor Rating and Block Proficiency. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Big Bad Dad		Stryfe: The final hit of Special Attack 2 pauses all Shock effects on the Opponent for 4 seconds. If this Champion is a Horseman of Apocalypse, become Passively Unblockable as long as 20 Telepathic Charges are active. Apocalypse: Activating Special Attack 1 or 2 increases the potency of personal burst damage by +25%, this can stack up to +300% max. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.

Strengths and Weaknesses[]

Strengths[]

Prevent Purify Abilities
- Apocalypse reduces the Opponent’s Purify Ability Accuracy by 100%, so in most matchups against difficult Purify Champions/nodes such as Kingpin, Korg or Mole Man, the Opponent will not be able to Purify Debuffs.

Fighting Mutant Opponents
- When Fighting Mutants, Apocalypse’s Special Attacks will be more impactful and allow him to ramp up his Genetic Code much faster.

Prevent Evade
- As the Opponent evades, Apocalypse increases his chance to bypass Evade by 10% for the rest of the quest. This makes him a great option when fighting Evade Opponents.

Significantly enhance any Mutant
- Using his Ability, Horseman of Apocalypse, Apocalypse can boost your favorite Mutant to some pretty crazy levels! However it does require some ramp up time.

Weaknesses[]

Robots
- Apocalypse needs Genetic Code to power himself up, Robots will grant no Genetic Code because they are inorganic beings.

Stun Immune / Block Penetration
- Apocalypse needs to land a decent amount of Heavy Attacks while he balances his Debuffs before locking them in with a Special 3. Stun- immune matchups will significantly reduce his effectiveness and Opponents who deal damage through Blocks will chip him out fast.

Poison, Degeneration or Debuff Immune
- Apocalypse needs to place a lot of Debuffs to be effective, Opponents who are immune to his Debuffs such as debuff immunity nodes will render him ineffective.

Ramp Time
- Unless Apocalypse fights a Mutant or has a synergy, it can take quite a few fights before he builds up all his Genetic Code, this can make his first fight or 2 more difficult.
Power Control
- Apocalypse' primary damage comes from his Special attacks and their debuffs. If the opponent can control his power or deny him from throwing specials, prepare for a longer fight.

Recommended Masteries[]

Inequity
- Apocalypse can apply 4 indefinite Debuffs on his opponent allowing him to synergise nicely with the reduction to the opponent’s Attack Rating granted from this Mastery. This can also stack with his personal Weakness to significantly lower the Opponent’s damage output.

Recovery
- The regeneration potency increase offered in this Mastery works very well when paired with Apocalypse’s ability to Slumber between fights.

Double Edge
- Although Apocalypse will take some bleed damage initially, he will quickly develop full immunity to Bleed for the rest of the quest, allowing him to benefit from the Attack Rating bonus without suffering the Bleed.